Concentrating-table.



R. H. RICHARDS.

CONCENTRATING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6. 1913.

1 a 1 97,3 9. Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

49 1. Red's [d H. H'. RICHARDS.

CONCENTRATING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6. I9I3.

l 9 1 9 T7,, 3 9 Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Zia/670%)";

19:1; CE. I

ROBERT H. RICHARDS, 015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CONGENTRATIING-TAIBLE.

memes.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 11916.

Application filed May 8, 1913. Serial No. 765,915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT H. -RICH- ARDS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Coir centrating-Tables, of which the following is aspecification. I

This invention ertains to concentrating tables of the Wil e type, andmore espccially to those whic are'longitudinally reoiprocated.

The purpose of the invention. is to in crease the capacity of the tableand insure closer and better separation, or to state it .in another way,to enable a table of reduced size, involving smaller expenditure ofpower and less water consumption, to perform the work of larger tablesof prior construction, and to effect a cleanersepa'ration of product.

Five features contribute to the improved results, by reason of theirpresence and cooperation in the table. These are: First. The use of theWilfley diagonal of advancing terminals. Second. The making of the topsurface of the table in a single or common plane, the riffles orchannels being sunk below such surface, with the tops of the separatingribs, cleats or walls in plane with the smooth portion of the tablesurface. Third. Forming the concentrate discharge end of the tableoblique to its lon gitudinal axis. Fourth. Causing the diagonal terminalline of the rifiles, or the dividing line between the rifiled and thesmooth portions of the table, to extend to a point on the concentratedischarge end of the table somewhat above the lower corner or angle ofsaidtable. Fifth. Forming 'at the concentrate discharge end of the tablea series of corrugations, grooves or chan-" nels, extending in thedirection of the length of the table, and parallelto the rifiles butinclining downward. Some of these features are old per se, but so far asI am aware, they have not hitherto been combined in one structure. Whenso combined, they mutually affect one another, and contribute to theunitary result,the per- .fect concentration of minerals, and thecomplete and close separation of concentrates from quartz, sand andother matters. The invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein: K Figure .1 is a top plan view of the table;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view designed to show better the corrugated o'rgrooved concentrate discharge endof the table, and the action of thegrooves or corrugations in securing perfect separation anddelivery of.

suitable material, and which may advantageously be of woodcovered withlinoleum, because this substance has a surface admirably suitedto thepurpose,'its use being particularly satisfactory on the smooth orunrifiled'portion 2 of the table. will be seen from the drawing to havethe VVilfley diagonal of advancing terminals, by which is meant that theends of the rifile cleats in series, beginning at the upper end or feedside ,of the table, are advanced along an oblique line toward theconcentratedischarge end of the table and toward the tailing side; thatis to say, the end of each lower rifiie extends a little beyond the oneabove it toward the concentrate discharge end, making thereby an obliqueline of ad- I vancing terminals. I

The entire upper surface of the table is in common plane, that is tosay, the smooth or unriflled surface 2 and the upper surfaces of theribs or rifiie cleats 3 which separate the riffles or grooves 4, lie inone and the same plane, While said riflle cleats are threeeighths of aninch more or less deep at the lower cornerof the mechanism end of thetable, and become progressively shallower until they disappear at theoblique line of meeting with the smooth-portion 2 of the table surface,as bestindicated in Fig. 3. The rifile cleats are all of about the sametaper, and the thick ends, .that is, the ends toward the mechanism endof the table, will therefore be of a thickness or height diminishingfrom the lower -or tailing side to the upper or feed side of the table.

The rifiles may be formed by grooving or channeling the surface of thetable, with or without linoleum, as in Fig. 4, or by making th surfaceof the table initially of two planes, one at a quite obtuse angle to theother, and thereafter securing to the depressed plane separate rifliecleats or strips 3 as illustrated in Fig. 5. The taper of the riiflecleats is just sufiicient to bring their top surfaces up to the plane ofthe smoothor unriflied surface. This latter construction will be foundconvenient whereit is desired to employ linoleum on the surface of thetable, since the entire surface may be covered with a layer 5 oflinoleum, as seen in Fig. 5, preparatory to securing upon the depressedplane of the table the tapered ribs or riflie cleats 3*. Still anotherway of accomplishing the result, which gives virtually a one-plane tableand admirable results in practice, is to make the table with a singleplane surface covered with linoleum, and tack on itthin riifle cleats%-,;*of an inch thick, more or less, and of uniform thickness throughouttheir entire length, using the oblique line of ends or not as preferred.

As shown in Fig. 1, the concentrate-discharge end of the table ismade'oblique to the longitudinal axis of the table, while the mechanismend thereof may be rectangular,

the lower or tailing-discharge side of the table being under thoseconditions the shorter side. While 1 prefer this form of table, myinvention is applicable to other forms, with which all or many of itsadvantages are secured. I donot therefore, limit myself to this form oftable except'as specifically stated in the claims.

It has hitherto been customary to make .the diagonal terminal line ofthe rifiles extend from a point on the upper or feed side of the table,and at a relatively short distance from the mechanism end of the table,to the lower corner of the table at the concentrate-discharge end. Iprefer, however, to extend a limited number of the riffles at the loweror tailing side of the table, all the way from the mechanism end to theconcentrate-discharge end, as indicatedin Fig. 1; hence the oblique lineseparating the smooth surface 2 of the table from the rififled surfacemay oegin at about the usual point on the upper or feed side of thetable and extend to a point on the concentrate discharge end of thetable somewhat back-of or above the tailing side and the lower corner orangle.

At the, concentrate-discharge end of the table I form a series ofgrooves, channels, or corrugations 6, which may be of V-shape or othersuitable cross section, said corrugations extending in the direction ofthe axis of the table and in,the line of recipro-.

cation, andin plan parallel to the riflie cleats but inclining downwardas indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The purpose of these corrugations,grooves or channels 6 is to insure delivery ofeach separate product intoits proper receptacle, and to overcome the diflimemes or under the end,causing delivery of such particles awavfrom their ownbox or bin into aneighboring box intended for another product.

The improvement obtained by bringing the diagonal line of rifile tips upsome inches above the lower corner of the table, is that the line of thedividing partition between the receptacle belonging to one product andthat belonging to another, is coincident with the direction or swing ofthe particles, and hence the particles as ,they swing 03 the table dropinto-the. box for which they are intended, while if this dividing lineis put along the tailing-discharge side, the particles as they swin offthe table move transverse to the direction of the dividing parti-- tionsand swing now in and now out of their own box. Tn'the use of tables ofprior construction, it is found that after the grains have been properlyseparated and brought thus separated to the concentrate end of the 4table, the wash water flowing across thetable and discharging from itsend during the backward throw of the table, carries with it in adirection transverse or oblique to the line of reciprocation, particleslying in its path or falling from the table, and deflects them fromtheir proper course, frequently delivering them from one to severalinches to one side of the point at which they should be delivered. Byreason of the corrugations, grooves or channels 6, the grains orparticles are firmly held against lateralmov'ement while traversing theinclined edge at the concentrate-discharge end of the table, and theyare consequently caused to move only in the direxztion of thereciprocation of the table; hence by'em- I ploying thin walls of sheetmetal or other suitable material, to mark the boundaries- 'ucts'reachingthe end of'the table are delivered to their appropriate receptacles.

Thus, assuming that middling is to be saved and separated from tailingand concentrate,

the concentrate would fall upon thev inclined.

chute or surface 9, the quartz upon the oppositely-inclined chute orsurface 10, while the middling falling between the upright walls ordividers 7 and 8, would enter the receptacle 1 1. The walls or dividers7 and 8 are made adjustable toward and from each other, and are set inaccordance with the width of the band of concentrate or middling as thesame reaches the discharge end of the table. This width varies accordingto the class of materials treated, and the walls 7 and 8 are adjusted assoon as the band becomes well established, since the width remainspractically constant thereafter if the feed to the table is steady. Thewalls being thus set, and the grains or particles being guided in and bythe corrugations or grooves, each class will fall into its properdivision or receptacle. These dividers for making separation between theproducts may be made in. other ways besides those indi cated, and thenumber of them may be increased or diminished.

12- indicates a 'water pipe extending lengthwise of the table just aboveits edge on the high or feed side, which pipe is provided with aseriesof taps or cocks 13, or it may be a trough with holes for water andsuitable water checks, and-14 is a. feed hopper, spout, or chute on thefeed side of the table, and reaching from the mechanism end for asuitable distance toward the concentrate discharge end.

In the operation of .the machine the pulp is delivered by thechute orhopper 14: to

' the narrower upper portion of the rifi'led surface of the table,together with asuitable quantity of water, and the taps 13 are, eitherpreliminarily or as the work progresses, opened to deliver suitablequantities of water along the upper or feed side of the table. Theaction of the table is as follows: The jerking action produced by themechanism tends to advance the grains of sand toward the concentrateend. This vibration tends also to stratify the sands in such a way thatthe heavier gains are underneath, while the lighter grains are above.

The transverse flow of water tends to carry the sands down the slopetoward the tailing side, which movement is retarded by the rifiiegrooves, but since the agitation due to' the mechanism has stratifiedthe sands within the rifile grooves, it is only the top layer of lighterwaste material that is carried down toward the tailing side. The

' heavier portion in the layer beneath is con stantly advancing towardthe terminals of the riflle grooves, and finally.delivered out on to thesmooth or unrifiled portion. The

special use of the advancing terminals is to give to the doubtfulgrains, by which I mean the grains that are not quite heavy enough to beconcentrate nor light enough to be tailing, or the fine grains that havenot quite weight enough to be sure to get into the concentrate band atthefirst opportunity, an oft-repeated chance of being accepted asconcentrate or being rejected as tailing, according to whether they arefinallyheavy enough to attain the advancement into the concentrate bandor light enough to be thrown into the tailing band. By thisprogressivetravel over and through the rifiies the different substances aregradually separated, the gangue flowing off at the lower centrate,middling and tailing to a very con siderable extent. This widening isdue to the fact that water and water carrying sand will spread out togreater width if flowing upon a plane surface, than they will if theyare flowing in a trough made up of two planes sloping toward one anothernear their line of intersection, be the angle of convergence of the twoplanes ever so slight in its variance from the straight line. The pgactical working of a oneplane table as compared with a two plane tableis that the widening out of the bands, due to the one plane table,occurs at a very considerably wider angle than happens on the two planetable, thus effecting suflicient separation of the concentrate fromthe'tailing by traveling a shorter distance than would be required onthe two plane table. Indeed, it frequently happens-on the two planetable, that the bands travel along on parallel roads without widening atall after the first three or. four feet have been passed. This arrivingat sufficient separation in the shorter distance, enables one to use amuch smaller table than would be required where the two plane table isused.

The quantity power necessary to operate the smaller and lighter table,are proportionately less, while owing primarily to the corrugated orgrooved discharge end of the table, and to making the division linebetween the con centrate andthe tailing on 'the end of the table insteadof at the lower corner or on the lower .edge thereof, the. separation iscleaner and closer than has heretofore been found possible-Thecorrugations, grooves or channels at th concentrate-discharge end ofthe table may be formed in the body of the table itself, or'may be madeofmetal, cast, bent,

. t 4 115 of water employed, and the or otherwise fashioned into shape,as shall be found convenient. in practice.

Briefly recapitulating the features of my table and their purpose andeffect, the riflies serve to retain the heavy under layer of concentratewhile the lighter quartz resting above the concentrate is floated ofiover the cleats or riflie walls and down the table toward the tailingside, as heretofore. With a table having its entire upper surface incommon plane and the riliies wholly below such plane, there is a greaterwidening of the bands formed by the different materials than is the casewhere the linoleum surface is all one plane with taper Tillie cleatstacked on, which widening is the purpose for which tables of this classare designed.

By carrying some of the riftles at the lower'side of the table entirelyto the delivery or concentrate-discharge end, and having the lowermostpoint of the smooth surface 2 of the table terminate somewhat above thelower side of the table, say ten inches more or less, the divisionbetween middling and quartz, or other relatively light product, is madeon the end of the table, and with the aid of the corrugations on the endedge of thetable, each class of material or each product of theseparation, is caused to leave the end of the table in a right-line inthe direction of the reciprocating movement, unaffected by the throw dueto the reciprocation. As a result the dividers for separating theseproducts can be so lined up that the one product always remains on theone side, and the other product always on the other side of the dividingpartition, as should be done. On the other hand, if the diagonal line ofadvancing terminals comes out at the lower corner of theconcentrate-discharge end, bringing the dividing line between themiddling and tailing on the tailing s ide of the table,'then themiddling product and tailing product are thrown from the table now oneway and now the other with reference to the dividing partition betweenthe two products, and, according to the phase of the movement of themechanism, at one instant middling is thrown into tailing, and atanother instant tailing is thrown into middling.

By making the delivery end of .the tablef oblique, and having the washwater come on atthe upper side of the table, or by other appropriateconstruction, a wetted edge is assured, and a proper delivery of theproducts without any heaping of dry banks, and without boring ordisplacement such as. produced by wash jets arranged merely to keep theedge wet. 1

1 It will be seen from the foregoing description-that the single planeconstruction tends to produce wider bands of the difierent products orclasses of material, since there is not present the valley -ortrough-like table surface incident to the employment of tapering cleatsor ribs secured upon a previously planesurface. This broadening of thebands, which of course increases toward the discharge end of the table,makes easier the division of the products and their delivery intoseparate receptacles, which is further facilitated by making thedivision between the middling and the tailing on the end instead of atthe side or corner of the table. Finally, the corrugations serve toprevent the remingling of products once separated, yet allow a free andadequate flow of water over the end of the table to maintain a wetted,edge, which is finally insured by obliquity of the end.

Having thus described my invention, what it claim is 1. The combinationof a laterally inclined, longitudinally shaking concentrating tableadapted to deliver the concentrated product over the end edge thereof;guiding meanson the discharge end of'said table, extending substantiallythe entire depth of said end edge to guide the concentrated productduring discharge, and a divider. structure for receivingmaterialrdischarged from said guiding means and for maintaining theclassification thereof. A

21 The combination of a laterally inclined,

longitudinally shaking concentrating table having an oblique concentratedischarge end and a top surface adapted under the shaking action topropel the lighter and heavier particles in divergent paths, the heavierparticles being discharged solely over the edgeof said oblique end; andguiding means on said oblique end extending substantially the entiredepth of said end edge and in z the direction of shake of said table.

3. The combination of a laterally inclined longitudinally shakingone-plane concentrating table having an oblique concentrate dischargeend and having longitudinally extending rifile grooves adapted to propelthe heavierparticles in a relatively wide hand all to the oblique endand to propel the lighter particles in a divergent path partly to theend and partly to the low side of said table; and guiding means on saidoblique end extending in the direction of shake of said table andsubstantially the entire depth discharging particles.

4. The combination of a longitudinally shaking concentrating tableadapted to pro-J pel the heavier and lighter materials in di- .of theedge of said oblique end, to guide vergent paths toward one end of saidtable;

a plurality of guide ribs or flanges on said end of the table andextending in the general direction of shake of the table for guidingmaterial discharging over said end; and a divider structure forreceiving said .discharging material and maintaining the cla s ficat ont e eof.

5. The combination of a longitudinally shaking concentrating tablehaving an oblique concentrate discharge end, and adapted to propel theheavier materials and at least part of the lighter materials indivergent paths to said oblique'discharge end; and a plurality of guideribs or flanges mounted on the discharge end of said table and extendingin the general direction of shake thereof.

6. The combination of a shaking concentrating table adapted to propelthe lighter and heavier materials in divergent paths,

and having the discharge end beveled to form a steeply inclineddischarging surface; and a plurality of guide ribs or flanges on saiddischarging surface and extending in the general direction of shake ofsaid table.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ROBERT H. RICHARDS.

Witnesses: HAROLD R. PERRY,.

CHAS. E. Looks.

